Local event marks anniversary of Korean War armistice

Friday

Jul 26, 2013 at 10:58 PMJul 26, 2013 at 11:01 PM

By Kim Ring, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — Sandwiched in time between World War II and the Vietnam War, the three-year-long Korean War is often forgotten by Americans who remember Pearl Harbor or the black-and-white images from Vietnam more vividly.

But for those who fought in Korea, there is no forgetting.

"I'm a combat veteran of Korea," said Joseph Bianculli of Millbury. "I don't like to talk about it, but it's my obligation and responsibility to remember those who went and didn't come back."

And so, at 2 p.m. Saturday, if he's feeling OK, the 83-year-old will be at the Korean War Memorial on Foster Street standing with the ever-dwindling ranks of Korean War veterans to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the fighting in 1953.

"I lost a couple of friends there," he said. "Everybody says it must be tough, but it's more tough on the families."

The anniversary will be marked with speeches, including one by consul general of South Korea Kangho Park in Boston. Some members of the Korean War Veterans Association of Central Massachusetts will also speak, and s tate Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, will present a citation to Consul General Park.

Francis Carroll, a leader of the Korean War Memorial Committee, said he worked to get the memorial built so the war would never be forgotten. He believes that in recent years, the war has gotten more attention.

"I think there's been more since the 50th anniversary," he said. "It's amazing how much more has been brought to light, but it's been very much a forgotten war. It happened so quickly after World War II, and Vietnam came so soon after?…?but it was a bloody war."

James E. McDonald, commander of the Korean War Veterans of Central Massachusetts, remembers "blood on the snow" during the war.

"It was a tremendously bad war," he said. "Many people thought World War II solved all our problems, but in Korea? We were the first ones to draw a line in the sand against communism," he said.

When they remember the anniversary, the veterans think of those who were killed in action, and they remember about 8,000 servicemen from the conflict are still missing.

While DNA testing is helping some families claim the remains of their loved ones, in many cases there are no remains to claim. And, Mr. McDonald said, there are still troops serving in the same areas where he once fought.

"There are about 28,000 troops there," he said, though figures released this spring show the number may be higher because of recent tensions with North Korea.

Also causing ill feelings are reports that the USS Pueblo, a ship captured by North Korea years after the war in 1968, will be unveiled at a war museum as that country marks the end of the war as well. The ship was never decommissioned, according to the reports, and some crew members who were held captive for a year believe the United States should try to get it back.

"That is a real slap in the face," Mr. Carroll said of the museum display.

Mr. McDonald agreed the ship should not be displayed.

Some of the men worry that things could heat up again between North and South Korea and that such action might require intervention from the United States. Mr Carroll said the North Koreans must be taken seriously.

"I don't want to see a nuclear war," he said. "But we have the ability to wipe out that country overnight. Still, I don't think you can take people like that lightly."

The veterans said they've always felt warmly welcomed by South Koreans, who treat them with respect and always express how grateful they are to the United States and the individual servicemen even all these years later.

Mr. Bianculli visited South Korea in 1987 with his wife and was proud that the country he remembered as "a shambles" was flourishing.

"I couldn't believe it," he said.

All three men said they chose to enlist and fight in Korea before they were drafted. The youngest Korean War veterans would be 78 years old, said Mr. McDonald, who is 83 and still working.

When Mr. McDonald returned after the war he coached Pop Warner football and remembered six young men from the program telling him they wanted to join the Marines.

"I said, 'Go ahead. If you feel you want to protect your country, then do it,'?" he recalled. "One of them lost a leg, but they all came back."

He said he is proud of those young men who chose to serve their country without being asked, the way so many Korean War veterans did.

Contact Kim Ring at kring@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimmring.